Steam Lunar New Year Sale dates have leaked

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The February dates aren't official, but they're a very good bet.

Steam Lunar New Year Sale
(Image credit: Valve)

Valve rarely announces Steam sale dates in advance, but that's not really a problem for most thrifty videogame shoppers because the dates regularly leak well in advance anyway. I vaguely recall that it used to be a pretty big deal, way back when: A date would slip out from the darkest shadows of the internet, and we'd all huddle around to debate the likelihood of its accuracy, what we might buy, and whose head would roll when the leaker's identity was discovered.

It's not quite such a dramatic thing these days, thanks largely to the ubiquity of Steam sales and proliferation of other online storefronts—not to mention Valve's apparent indifference to the whole thing—but even so, it's good to have some advance notice on these things, especially if you're still recovering from the recently-ended Steam Winter Sale. 

Steam's Lunar New Year events aren't quite the elongated blowouts that the Winter and Summer sales are, but there are deals, and it's a safe bet that Lunar New Year items will turn up in the Points Shop. Last year's sale had its own Night Market, where you could turn in earned points for profile backgrounds, chat room effects, chat stickers, and that sort of thing, but that was prior to the launch of the permanent Points Shop and so my assumption is that it won't make a re-appearance this year.

Of course, this is all unofficial and unverified, but it's probably not coincidence that the 2021 Lunar New Year also begins on February 12. Whatever the actual date is (and if I was a betting man, I'd say February 12 is it), we'll let you know when the sale gets underway. For all the Steam sale leaks we know about, keep an eye on our list.

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Andy Chalk
Andy Chalk
US News Lead

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.